IMO, a lot of people like to blame everything on infections, but I don't know if an infection could cause gushing without producing off flavors/aromas. If the infection was producing CO2 to increase the foaming then it was fermenting and introducing its byproducts to the beer which would result in off flavors/aromas. Therefore, I am willing to say if the beer tastes/smells fine that it is a priming problem.

For you next batch I would recommend using 2 Coopers' priming tablets per bottle, and then do everything else as normal (except don't add priming syrup) and bottle. The Coopers product is very consistent, and if you have gushers then, we will need to discuss infections and off flavor identification.

This Saturday (6/19) my local area is having a charity home brew festival, and the way they got around it is NC did not like selling tickets to an event where untaxed beer is being given away, so they started a "join the charity" fee and the state let it go. So for $15 you can become a member of the charity and enjoy ~ 5-6 hours of free home brewed beer, not sure of this would fly in other states or not

One "trick" is not to use estery yeast or late hop additions which can cover up the malt aromas. Another would be good portions of Munich malt since it is one of the dominate ingredients in most of the styles you mentioned.

Do NOT try to dry grain a beer like you would with hops or you will get a sour/infected brew going.

I know this will offend someone, but Alanta kinda sucks for beer. There are certainly some good spots, but they are not centralized and most don't have a Hotlanta address - think Sandy Springs, Decatur, etc. As far as Asheville, there is no place large enough for the conference hotel that I am aware of and flying into Asheville, while possible, is not a great move financially. The best prices for flights would be Charlotte, or maybe Greensboro or Greenville and then you're looking at a drive. Now the beer scene would be perfect for the conference. Darn near everything within walking distance of everything else (if there was a hotel).

Another rub is what Drew mentioned, local support. MALT has a strong club, but probably not enough to pull off the conference by itself if held in Asheville. Just the cellarmaster job and their staff would be a nightmare with 760 beers in the second round, so 2280 bottles (95 cases of beer). Couple that with club night with around 400 5gallon kegs and ProBrewer's Night with 50 (or more) 15 gallon kegs and one starts to understand the task at hand! How do you keep that many beers cold and organized can be a logistical nightmare. Most cellarmasters don't see much of the conference.

My hat's off to those who are up to the challenge!

I think our best bet is Bill Lynch's group with some support from the other clubs.

I'd like to see either Nashville, TN or Asheville, NC sometime soon. But I am not crazy enough to raise my hand.

There has been some discussion about it by some in the Asheville home brew club, but we do not have anywhere near the number of hotel rooms that are needed. I was hitting up the Charlotte club, but did not get any bites

Way to go Drew, I was about to mention problem with milds. At least with Mild there is the excuse of not knowing what is should taste like due to lack of commercial examples, but Scottish ales should be something any and or all BJCP judges should know how to judge no matter the ABV